1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to the field of cable and conduit management and, more particularly, to the organization and distribution of computer cables or other similar items.
2. Description of Related Art
Computer systems, for example, personal computers, servers, etc., may be coupled to peripheral and other devices for communicating information such as data, commands, addresses, etc. through a multitude of cables. Oftentimes these cables lay about in a haphazard or dangerous fashion. Cables strewn about a room in disarray offer ample opportunities for tripping over, for damaging the equipment to which they are connected, or for harming other equipment in close proximity. Moreover, cables laying in disarray may make it more difficult and time consuming to find a particular cable or circuit for equipment maintenance periods or during system downtimes. To avoid these problems, most of the current solutions to cable management and organization employ rings or trays of rectangular cross-section that hold the cables in place. These designs work well in some situations, but in some cases they are less than adequate, such as when it is desirable to substantially hide the cables or when space is limited.
Many times cables in offices are simply dropped down corners of walls and "zip-tied" together. A rectangular cross-section tray design may not fit snugly into an area (e.g., a corner) where cables will run, or may require too much space down the length of one side of an area to be sufficiently usable.
Another use of rectangular cable trays is to hide cables between areas where network drop boxes provide RJ-45 or other types of ports to plug in network cables. With rectangular boxes, the ports are either on the side of the tray where it is sometimes difficult to identify port numbers, or on top of the tray where it is easier for garbage to fall into the ports.
Thus, there exists a need for a cable management system which will avoid or reduce these problems, fit well into a confined space, be unobtrusive, and also provide for easy positioning of cables into and out from the system at particular required locations.